


Your Enemy

by Nyrandrea



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: A few swears here and there, Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Lewthur - Freeform, Lewvithur - Freeform, One Shot, if you really squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27377428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyrandrea/pseuds/Nyrandrea
Summary: In a brief respite amongst the chaos, Arthur tries to reconcile with a long lost friend.Takes place during the events of The Future.
Relationships: Arthur & Lewis (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 281





	Your Enemy

**Author's Note:**

> Quick note that this is a one-shot and not a sequel to my other MSA story 'Cave of Regret'.  
> Enjoy!

“Lewis...?”

The name felt foreign on Arthur's tongue, almost taboo in a sense. Probably because he had found out the truth only moments ago while hanging over a pit of glowing magenta stalactites, only to be dropped down by his best friend's skeletal hand.

In a strange way he felt at peace as his body silently dropped through the wisps of pink smoke. He had finally found Lewis after months of painstaking searching, but there was a sharp jab that threatened to break through his ribs; that pang of betrayal, and a vague sense of de-ja-vu.

There was nothing else he could do now but stare up, maybe even reach out in some sort of last-minute grand gesture to show that he still cared. Not that it mattered; it would all be over soon.

But then... there's something there. It's hard to tell with Lewis, always has been, but there's a flicker of emotion. A little doubt at first, then realization kicks in, his eye sockets crease down into an expression that Arthur can't really read from this far down.

Sorrow? Regret? Guilt?

A small glimmer of hope buds in his chest as the ghoul seems to reach out.

The spikes beneath start to crumble into dust, and the world around them warps.

The crackling of a gunshot rings out.

And suddenly Arthur was back in the truck, smothered by a mountain of cardboard boxes.

Senses sharpened by adrenaline, Arthur held his breath, straining to hear with whatever concentration he had left. There was a clink as something hit the metal floor next to him, but he didn’t want to open his eyes in the fear that maybe that ghost – _Lewis_ – might be hovering over him with second thoughts.

A few more shots blasted through the truck, and there was a grunt from Lewis as a bullet hit him square in the chest. It was only a few moments later when muffled shouting came from outside.

…Uncle Lance?

_Shit._

With one hand to steady his racing head, Arthur finally came to, his eyes darting around the truck for Lewis and his uncle – neither were there, and it was starting to grow eerily quiet.

His gaze fell onto a dark grey heart-shaped locket that seemed to beat with a life of its own, albeit weakly. On closer inspection, there were cracks laced around it; some were light, while others seemed to cut deep.

Wait, wasn’t this the same heart that Lewis had on him? Maybe the shock had messed with his head, but he was pretty sure it been a bright yellow before. Now it just looked…sad.

Part of him knew it wasn’t his place to go prying, but something compelled Arthur to open the locket up, despite the fact that it would probably piss Lewis off even more than he already was. And there was still his uncle to think of.

Still, his entrancement got the better of him.

Inside was Lewis, of course, but there was Vivi too…smiling up at him as he cradled her in his arms.

There was that pang again, and Arthur couldn’t help but frown as he stared down at the picture. They were a great couple, nobody could deny that, but weren’t they meant to be a team? A family? Did Mystery not matter to Lewis anymore? Did…did _he_ not matter?

But as he squinted, he swore he could see the picture… _changing –_ different colours and figures warping into the frame with every pulse. Lewis and Vivi were still there, but now Mystery was too with a fang-filled grin – to which Arthur couldn’t help but shudder at – and…he was there too. His eyes widened as he watched himself slowly manifest in the corner, smiling up at the camera with a cheesy smile and a peace sign.

Stunned, Arthur could only keep staring as the heart started thumping erratically before suddenly being snatched from his grasp. Fright gripped him like nothing else on this earth as Lewis glowered down at him. It wasn’t like before, when he was in full-on anger and murderous rage mode. No, this was more like an annoyed scowl as if he had just caught Arthur looking into his secret diary.

Which…wasn’t far from the truth, honestly.

As the spectre turned his back to Arthur, shock seemed to overtake him as he fell to his knees; his broad shoulders trembling as he seemed to just stare at the picture in silent disbelief, as if he just couldn’t accept what was right in front of him.

Was…was he… _crying_?

“Lewis…?”

When Arthur received no answer, he mustered up enough courage to slowly shuffle his way up from behind, but the closer he got, the bigger and more menacing Lewis somehow became. Not to mention the sweltering warmth that seemed to emanate from him like a blazing aura, threatening to melt his skin if he got too close.

For that reason alone, Arthur stopped there, just about an arm’s length away.

From here, he could observe his best friend – or sworn enemy, seeing as he _had_ been trying to kill Arthur – and make out just what the hell had happened to him. From the jutting ribcage and skull-head to the fact that he _floated_ , it was safe to say that Lewis was, in-fact, dead.

Arthur swallowed a hard lump down his throat.

They had been looking for him for months now – well, Arthur had, as Vivi had no recollection of her boyfriend whatsoever – and they had unknowingly found him at some dusty old mansion. What had he been doing there? Why was he so angry looking all the time? How did he _die?_

The questions swirling through his head were interrupted though when he heard a sob rattle out from the ghost; it was quiet, almost a whisper, but as deep as a rumble of thunder rolling out in the distance.

It was a sound that made the hairs on the back of his neck bristle with apprehension, and he could feel his body start to kick into fight or flight mode.

Mostly flight.

But this was _Lewis:_ the guy with the level-head, the caring big brother, the kindest friend that anyone could ask for. And now he was upset and… Arthur couldn’t just let that slide, despite everything.

With a deep breath to console himself – as he had done before with Mystery – he reached out a trembling hand, only hesitating when the heat started to become unbearable, like he was testing fate with an open fire.

But he had come so far, there was no point in pulling back now, not when he had a chance to finally reconcile with his friend.

Maybe even ally.

At the very least an acquaintance.

However, when he finally laid his bare hand on Lewis’s back, he was surprised to feel that it wasn’t sizzling like bacon in a frying pan, but instead the heat was…almost pleasant to the touch. Still intense, but not excruciating.

Still, there was a moment then. A moment in which Arthur could feel Lewis’s body jolt in surprise at the sudden touch before going rigid in realization. He could only hope that this was the good kind of surprise, the kind that Lewis would open up his arms and they would embrace in tears as they had done many times in the past after a particularly cheesy chick flick (in which Vivi would just roll her eyes and comment that she was supposed to be the woman in this relationship.)

Hopefully _not_ the kind of surprise that would get his ass burned to a crisp.

The reaction he got wasn’t one way or the other though, as Lewis only turned around to gaze down at him with black tear-tracks running down his skull. It wasn’t a particularly fond look, nor was it a hateful glare. He was just…indifferent, like he didn’t quite know what to do with the shivering excuse of a mess that was trying to pat his back in a weak attempt at comforting.

“H…Hey it’s okay, L-L-L…”

Lewis’s violet pupils constricted into slits as his eye sockets frowned in irritation, which was enough to send Arthur scrambling back as the ghost rose from the ground and towered above him.

_“ **Don’t** patronise me.”_

“Holy shit,” Arthur muttered in awe – or horror, he couldn’t even tell what he was really feeling right now. “You can _talk?!"_

A dry look was his response.

“Sorry Lew,” Arthur said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “It’s just really weird seeing you like- “

A snort of derision suddenly cut him off.

Arthur couldn’t help but be a little taken aback. Lewis had always been so patient – having been brought up with three energetic little sisters – and always had his back when it came to exploring haunted places.

Well, Arthur really had Lewis’s back, since he was hiding behind him all the time.

Now here he was, sneering down at him with his arms crossed like some tough bully of the playground that had just asserted his dominance by stealing Arthur’s lunch money.

 _“Look at you,”_ he drawled out. _“Calling me ‘Lew’ and pretending we’re still friends after what you did.”_

Arthur flinched a little and cocked one brow up in confusion before scuttling back even further when Lewis quickly swooped down to his level, shoving his cracked heart into his face.

 _“This doesn’t change anything, do you understand?!”_ he barked, using one hand to pull Arthur up by the collar of his shirt when he tried to shrink away again, while the other pointed to the picture of the group.

Arthur weakly nodded, hoping he would be spared if he agreed.

_“ **This** …is a mistake! It shouldn’t be there! It shouldn’t…”_

Lewis trailed off and let Arthur drop back down to the ground as the poor man’s sides heaved in both relief and exhaustion, like he had holding in his breath for an eternity.

Skeletal fingers traced around the picture longingly, like he was remembering his previous life. All the good times they had together, even the bad times; all precious memories that he wished would fade away so he wouldn’t have to endure this pain any longer.

_“You…shouldn’t…”_

“…be there?” Arthur finished for him.

Lewis closed the heart with a forced click.

_“Exactly.”_

A heavy silence settled between them as Lewis stared down at Arthur for a moment longer, narrowing his glowing eyes before making a _"T_ _sk!"_ of disapproval and turning his back on him once again, this time with more purpose as he strode towards the front of the truck trailer. Leaving Arthur behind.

Again.

“Well, why shouldn’t I be?!”

He flinched slightly when he saw Lewis pause at the door, his towering figure silhouetted against the full moon. The little bravado Arthur had dissipated as quickly as it had come, and there was a niggling thought at the back of his mind that suggested that maybe he should just let this go. Let Lewis go. It would make his life a lot easier. Hell, maybe he could just retire from Mystery Skulls altogether, lead a normal life as a mechanic at his uncle’s garage.

If he survived tonight, that was.

Arthur shook his head. No, he couldn’t think like that. Not anymore.

_“Excuse me?”_

Lewis turned his head to the side, glowering at Arthur as if daring him to test him again.

And he did.

“Why shouldn’t I be in the picture?” he asked, his tone wary but stern enough. “I-I have a right to be there as much as you or Vivi or, hell, even Mystery! We were a team!”

_“Were.”_

“Wh…What’s that supposed to mean?”

_“Don’t play innocent with me.”_

“What the hell, Lewis?!” Arthur snapped, finally deciding to stand up to him, both metaphorically and literally. “I don’t deserve this, _any_ of this!”

He gestured wildly around the van, as if he were still in that cave of purple death.

“What did I ever do to you?!”

_“What did you ever…?”_

A combustion of pink flames swirled violently around Lewis’s body and threw Arthur back into the cave. The roaring of fire drowned out his pitiful cries as Lewis lunged forward and held him up by the neck and suddenly he was over that pit of spikes again. Arthur’s body screamed so much in protest that he almost wished for Lewis to drop him, and to let him fall this time.

_“What did you ever **DO** to me?!” _

Arthur flinched as Lewis tightened his grip, and the longer he looked at Lewis’s eyes the more shrunken his pupils became; soon enough he was staring into two soulless black pits.

But despite this, despite the sleepless nights looking over his shoulder, despite that he couldn’t take much more of being rag-dolled all over the place, he couldn’t back down now. This was Lewis. Kind, caring, gentle-giant Lewis who wouldn’t even raise his hand against a fly. He was still _in_ there, somewhere. He just…had to be coaxed out somehow.

Raising his robotic arm – because his other was far too weak at this point – he reached out and brushed his fingers over the cracked heart, feeling its pulse even underneath the metal digits.

“I was _looking_ for you, Lew.”

Startled, Lewis loosened his grip.

_“What?”_

“You just…disappeared,” Arthur breathed. “Mr. and Mrs. Pepper had no idea where you went, and Vivi had no idea who you even were anymore. It was like you just vanished off the face of the earth, I was convinced you’d been abducted by aliens or some shit.”

He laughed, if you could call raspy wheezing that, and his lungs immediately regretted it; the heat of the flames that licked around them and fumes of smoke not helping. But Lewis’s face of _how dare you make casual jokes when you should be begging for your life_ was just too funny to him.

“We searched all over the states for months, but you didn’t even leave a trail or anything. I was so close to giving up but then…the mansion and well, the rest is history I guess,” he finished with a weak chuckle.

Lewis still failed to see the funny side of it as the cave was swept away in a cloud of purple smog, leaving them back in four enclosed walls. The spectre let Arthur’s limp body slide back down to the ground with a tired grunt and hovered back as if he had been struck down.

_“You’re lying.”_

Arthur sighed and ran a hand down his singed face, pinching his nose in frustration. He was becoming much less afraid of Lewis and more…frustrated. How much was he going to have to drill it into that thick skull of his that yeah, they were actually friends once?

“Why would I _lie_ about something like that? Wouldn’t you have done the same for me?” he asked.

Lewis seemed to flinch at the question.

“…You would, right?”

He couldn’t believe that he actually had to ask and felt even worse at the fact that Lewis wasn’t answering him. Vivi wouldn’t have hesitated; she was a ride or die kind of girl. Mystery was loyal, even if he did rip his arm off for…whatever reason. It must have been a good one. That’s what he told himself anyway.

Even if his skull lacked the hydration needed, Arthur could still see that Lewis was sweating bullets.

“Well, guess that’s my answer then- “

 _“You couldn’t have been looking for me!”_ Lewis interrupted. _“Not after you…,”_ he trailed off, looking to the side, as if in thought.

Arthur gave him an expectant look as he waited for him to finish the sentence, frowning when it never came.

“After I…?” he motioned with his hand, as if it would somehow jog his memory.

But one look told him that Lewis hadn’t forgotten, he just wasn’t telling.

“Lewis, what did I do?” he asked again, his tone changing.

There was yet another moment of hesitation before Lewis finally said, _“You really don’t remember, do you.”_

Something must have happened in the past that Arthur’s mind had blocked – much like Vivi – something so horrible that it pushed Lewis’s vengeful ghost to come after him with murderous intent.

…Murderous.

A couple of tears pricked at his eyes.

“Remember _what,_ Lewis? Wait, did _I_ do that to you?!” he screamed, the ghost flinching as he did.

Arthur desperately wanted to stand, run up to him, shake the confession out of him. But his body refused, so he was doomed to be stuck on the floor in a pit of musty cardboard and impending despair.

All anger melted away from Lewis’s eyes, replaced with…something else.

Sorrow? Regret? Guilt?

He didn’t care.

He wanted answers.

“Goddamnit, tell me what I-!”

A rush of white and blue suddenly crashed in between them from above, and before either could even react a flash of white-hot light blinded them before engulfing the whole truck with a pillar of smoke and fire.

* * *

Arthur should have been dead; he knew that much. But despite the overwhelming odds stacked against him, it seemed that heaven nor hell had any reservations for him today. Figures.

He stared up at the night sky as his vision slowly came back into focus, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Clearly the truck exploded, hence him lying on a bed of ash with his body covered in charred debris, but what had caused it?

Rolling his head to the side, he could just about make out two blue figures darting and clashing it out in the distance – one was clearly Vivi (how could she even _move_ like that?) – though steel beams and parts of the truck blocked his vision of the fight, but…what was helping her? Some kind of big dog?

_Mystery?_

His vision still wasn't the best but Arthur knew he wasn’t hallucinating, he was pretty sure he had seen Mystery like that before; a tall and lean beast with more tails than he could count, when he tore off his arm.

Why was it all so hazy?

Throwing his head back, he closed his eyes for a moment to drown out the confusion. Maybe even calm down a little.

_“Arthur!”_

Or maybe not.

A small part of him was grateful though as a pair of massive hands heaved the blackened, twisted metal that had been pinning him down and pulled Arthur to his feet, keeping a steady grip on his shoulders when his legs buckled beneath him.

_“Are you okay?”_

Arthur gave him a dry look.

_“Yeah, stupid question. Is anything broken?”_

“I thought this was what you wanted.”

Now it was Lewis’s turn to scrutinize, to which Arthur muttered a meek, “Sorry.”

The ghost sighed and swung Arthur’s arm around his shoulder – though he barely managed to reach it – and put his other arm around his waist to keep him grounded.

_“Are you able to walk?”_

Arthur looked away and managed a weak nod, hoping the heat in his cheeks went unnoticed.

As they traipsed through the uneven rubble – Lewis steadying Arthur whenever his leg got caught on something – the clashing of metal was even more prominent now and…did it suddenly get chilly?

_“To answer your question from before."_

Arthur side-eyed him.

_"I would look for you."_

He managed to crack a small smile, "Thanks."

_"Not that you'd be hard to find, with those lungs of yours. Vivi would think you were a banshee and drag me with her."_

His smile changed to a grimace, "...Thanks?"

The lightened mood dipped for a moment as Lewis paused to look ahead.

_"I didn't want any of this."_

Arthur stayed silent.

 _“To hurt you, I mean,”_ Lewis clarified. _“I was just…so overcome with rage that everything else became a blur, I never really stopped to think for a moment that maybe…,”_ he trailed off then, as if thinking hard on what his next words might be.

Deciding to stay quiet and listen, Arthur desperately hoped he was about to get the answer he needed right now.

_“Ah, I think that’s your uncle there.”_

His head snapped forward as his gaze fell upon his unconscious relative. With a gasp he loosened himself from Lewis’s grip and surged ahead, despite the ghost’s protests.

“Holy _crap,_ Uncle Lance?” Arthur turned him onto his back and gave him a good shake. “Oh my God, is he dead?!”

_“Relax. He’s still breathing.”_

“The hell did you do to him?!” he barked back, much to Lewis’s surprise.

 _“The uh…explosion must have knocked him out,”_ he flustered, rubbing the back of his magenta hair.

“Explosions don’t punch you in the face.”

 _“Don’t they…?”_ he tried with a shrug but dropped it when Arthur narrowed his eyes. _“Sorry,”_ he said, looking uncharacteristically sheepish. _“Blind rage, remember?”_

Deciding to ignore him, Arthur just about managed to heave his uncle onto his shoulder, much to his and Lewis’s surprise.

“Must be the adrenaline kicking in,” he figured.

_“Isn’t that usually reserved with running for you?”_

Arthur deadpanned, before adding, “You’re cracking an awful lot of jokes considering the danger Vivi’s probably in right now.”

 _That_ caught his attention.

_“Wait. Vivi’s here?!”_

“Uh…yeah, didn’t you see her in the van when you were chasing us? Ah, wait-“ he stopped, feigning sudden realization.

“ _Right._ Blind rage, got it.”

_“Arthur!”_

Before either of them could get into another argument, a terrible rumble shook the earth beneath them as a tsunami of thick blue and white plant vines twisted and snaked through the ground at an impossible speed.

Heading straight for them.

“What the fu-“

 _“Not her again,”_ Lewis growled, much to Arthur’s complete and utter bewilderment.

“I’m sorry, _her?_ ”

_“I’ll explain later, just get ready to run.”_

“Wait!” Arthur called out, catching Lewis’s attention. “Just tell me. D…Did I…? Was it…?”

He thought at the very least he would manage to get the question out without becoming a stuttering mess. What little determination he had was gone for good now, replaced with his all too familiar one emotion of fear. His stomach was in more knots than the monstrous plants that towered above them, and now he was doubting if he even _wanted_ to know what crucial little detail Lewis was hiding from him.

The one that, deep down, he already knew.

A heavy but delicately placed hand on his shoulder brought him back from the endless pit that was his guilty subconscious, and as he looked up at Lewis, he was brought back to a time when they were just about to head into whatever dangerous, horrifying excursion that Vivi had planned for the night, and Lewis was the rock that would get them all through it. No matter what.

_“There was a time when I would have said yes; that there was no doubt in my mind.”_

A jolt of guilt surged through him.

_“But now I’m not so sure. It’s not…really as clear as it was before. But I- we’ll… figure it out.”_

His grip tightened slightly.

 _“And if it turns out it really **was** you, and you’ve been playing me for a fool, then I’m going back to plan A. Sound fair?”_ he said with a friendly slap on the back that nearly sent Arthur hurtling forward.

“Sounds fair,” he replied with a nervous grin.

In the end, Arthur figured he would probably get what he deserved. But for now, he wasn’t worried about the future.

For it was time for the past to catch up.

**Author's Note:**

> Who else screamed at The Future? I sure as hell did!
> 
> There were so many things I wanted to touch on in this but I'd already covered it in 'Cave of Regret' so I didn't want to repeat myself lol. So this was just my take on what Lewis and Arthur were up to in the truck while that kickass fight was going on. :)  
> Apologies for any grammar errors, it's incredibly late right now  
> Let me know what y'all think!
> 
> I'm also on Tumblr so feel free to talk there! - https://nyrandrea.tumblr.com/


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